Blackford Law LLC

01/31/2026

"This case has its genesis in the ill-conceived and incompetently-implemented government pursuit of daily deportation quotas, apparently even if it requires traumatizing children.
..

Civics lesson to the government: Administrative warrants issued by the executive branch to itself do not pass probable cause muster. This is called the fox guarding the henhouse. The Constitution requires an independent judicial officer."

- Judge Fred Biery

https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/01/in-scathing-ruling-federal-judge-orders-release-of-liam-ramos-from-detention/?fbclid=IwY2xjawPrZrZleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEePrETpaetv26SIVD32vE2QU5A-H1He5GsCPrTRthRk4bjwEvxJHoy5ugnyL4_aem_xzaVBhqCkwu1w1_-tFoPhg

Judge Fred Biery said federal agents were “traumatizing children.”

01/25/2026

ENOUGH. We must come together NOW to defeat this evil or the murders and violations of our constitutional (the 1st, 2nd, and 4th Amendments are now being ignored by DHS in its ICE and CBP operations) and civil rights BY OUR OWN GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS will only continue and get worse given the ICE directives and budget.

Some great thoughts/plans from Rep. Ro Khanna on what we can push our congresspersons to do:

“Congress is not powerless. Democrats must unify around an actual agenda.

1. Vote no on DHS funding bill.

2. Repeal the multi-year $75 billion funding for ICE.

3. End qualified immunity for ICE agents.

4. Investigate and prosecute every single ICE agent who broke the law.

5. Impeach Noem and Bondi.

6. End the Kavanaugh stops with racial profiling and end the militarization of ICE.

7. Codify a use of force standard so courts can enforce the law against rogue ICE agents.

8. Tear down and replace ICE with an agency that has oversight.

Trump is engaged in the SYSTEMATIC destruction of the rule of law.

Only if Congress fights with every legal tool at our disposal including lawsuits in the courts, like we are doing with the Epstein files, can we stop this madness.

We owe that to nurse Pretti and the hundreds of thousands on the streets risking their lives to stand up for our freedoms.”

01/19/2026

“A time like this demands great leaders.” As relevant as ever this :

“We have got to have more dedicated, consecrated, intelligent and sincere leadership. This is a tense period through which we are passing, this period of transition and there is a need all over the nation for leaders to carry on. Leaders who can somehow sympathize with and calm us and at the same time have a positive quality. We have got to have leaders of this sort who will stand by courageously and yet not run off with emotion. We need leaders not in love with money but in love with justice. Not in love with publicity but in love with humanity. Leaders who can subject their particular egos to the pressing urgencies of the great cause of freedom. God give us leaders. A time like this demands great leaders. Leaders whom the fog of life cannot chill, men whom the lust of office cannot buy. Leaders who have honor, leaders who will not lie. Leaders who will stand before a pagan god and damn his treacherous flattery.”

- Martin Luther King Jr., “The Birth of a New Age," address delivered on August 11, 1956

01/15/2026

The Trump Administration is further restricting LEGAL immigration in its anti-immigrant crusade.

Beginning January 21, 2026, the Department of State is "pausing" issuing immigrant visas (permanent residency for those that must apply at U.S. embassies/consulates outside of the U.S.) for citizens of the following countries:

Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belize, Bhutan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Burma, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Colombia, Cote d’Ivoire, Cuba, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Dominica, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Fiji, The Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Haiti, Iran, Iraq, Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kuwait, Kyrgyz Republic, Laos, Lebanon, Liberia, Libya, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Nepal, Nicaragua, Nigeria, North Macedonia, Pakistan, Republic of the Congo, Russia, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, and Yemen.

This is because the Trump Administration considers citizens of these countries to be "financial burden[s] to Americans" and thus at a "high-risk" of using public (government) benefits and being a "public charge" instead of being "financially self-sufficient." No evidence or statistics were provided for such accusations.

Citizens of these countries can and should still submit their immigrant visa applications and will be scheduled for their immigrant visa interviews, but their actual immigrant visas will not be issued until this "pause" concludes. Current immigrant visas already approved will not be revoked and this "pause" does not affect issuance of non-immigrant visas such as fiancé (K-1) or tourist (B-1/B-2) visas.

Suspension of Visa Issuance to Foreign Nationals to Protect the United States from Foreign Terrorists and other National Security and Public Safety Threats

01/08/2026

Our hearts go out to Minneapolis and those everywhere giving everything for immigrant rights. We stand with you in solidarity now and forever. ✊🏼

“The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.”
― George Orwell, 1984

12/24/2025

"Since Inauguration Day, more than 1.5 million immigrants have either lost or will lose their temporary legal status, including their work authorizations and deportation protections, due to President Donald Trump’s aggressive revocation of legal immigration.

It’s the most rapid loss in legal status for immigrants in recent United States history...The Trump administration curtailed legal immigration by terminating Temporary Protected Status for more than 1 million immigrants [from 11 countries] and ending Humanitarian Parole protections for half a million more individuals.

The move to strip so many immigrants of their work authorization is likely to not only affect communities, but also batter the economy..."

Since President Donald Trump's inauguration, more than 1.5 million immigrants have lost or will lose their temporary legal status.

12/24/2025

At least one immigration judge in Omaha is properly following the law and applying this decision to once again grant bond to detained immigrants who did not come to the U.S. with a visa or obtain visa or permanent residency status after arrival. If you or a loved one is detained by ICE, please contact an experiened immigration attorney to see if obtaining an immigration bond if possible.

https://www.aclu.org/press-releases/federal-court-affirms-nationwide-class-has-right-to-bond-hearingsd

RIVERSIDE, Calif. — A federal court in California has ruled that a Trump administration policy that seeks to end bond eligibility for thousands of...

12/07/2025

Somalis are not “garbage” and the problems the country has now - like most countries around the world in this situation - are at least partially due to U.S. foreign policy and interference in their domestic politics.

As Elizabeth Schmidt, Professor Emeritus of history at Loyola University Maryland, writes:

“Much of this [news] coverage gives readers the impression that Somalia’s problems are self-generated and that the rest of the world has been trying to save it. In reality, there is a protracted history of outside interference in Somali affairs that has worsened its long crisis. From the Cold War to the “war on terror,” the United States has used Somalia as a battleground for its geopolitical schemes, with profoundly destructive consequences for Somalis.”

We have had the privilege of fighting for dozens of Somalis over the years and will continue to proudly do so.

https://apnews.com/article/trump-garbage-somalia-minneapolis-immigrant-omar-03e31bba53519d8a39b419679a3b75d

President Donald Trump has intensified his anti-immigrant rhetoric, calling Somali immigrants in the U.S. “garbage” during a Cabinet meeting.

12/06/2025

This week, the Trump administration's USCIS reduced the validity period for Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) for most recipients to allegedly allow for more vetting to defer fraud and address national security concerns.

The maximum validity period for initial and renewal EADs will be changed from 5 years to 18 months for those with applications for employment authorization that are pending or filed on or after December 5, 2025 in the following categories:

1. Refugees - (a)(3);
2. Asylees (those granted asylum - (a)(5);
3. Those granted withholding of deportation or removal - (a)(10);
4. Those with pending applications for asylum or withholding of removal - (c)(8);
5. Those with pending applications for adjustment of status - (c)(9); and
6. Aliens with pending applications for suspension of deportation, cancellation of removal, or relief under the Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act - (c)(10).

Additionally, the validity period for initial and renewal EADs will be one year or the end date of the authorized parole period or duration of Temporary Protected Status (TPS), whichever is shorter for the following categories:

1. Those paroled as refugees - (a)(4);
2. Those granted or with pending TPS applications - (a)(12)/(c)(19);
3. Those granted parole - (c)(11); and
4. Those who are spouses of those granted entrepreneur parole.

The Trump administration said it would reduce the period of time that work permits are valid for refugees, asylees and other immigrants granted legal protections in the U.S.

12/05/2025

This week, in a further effort to restrict LEGAL immigration, the Trump administration's USCIS announced the following changes:

1. An indefinite stop on adjudications of all asylum applications regardless of the applicant's country of nationality, pending a comprehensive review of their application (this does NOT apply to those in removal proceedings with pending asylum applications and asylum interviews with USCIS will continue to occur);

2. An indefinite stop on adjudications of pending applications (including I-485s, I-90s, I-751s, I-131s, and N-400s) for those from the 19 "travel ban" countries (Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela) pending a comprehensive review of these applications and regardless of their entry date to the United States (interviews or re-interviews on these applications will start or continue to occur); and

3. A comprehensive re-review of approved immigration applications for those from the 19 "travel ban" countries (Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela) who entered the United States on or after January 20, 2021 (with or without inspection).

The Trump administration has halted all immigration applications filed by people from 19 countries, according to internal government guidance, its latest move to restrict legal immigration pathways.

11/27/2025

Blackford Law is incredibly thankful for, and grateful to, our clients for putting your trust in us to guide you on your often difficult immigration journeys. You are brave. You are strong. We admire your courage and perseverance. And together we will do everything in our power to keep your family together or reunite you with them no matter what hurdles anyone puts in our way.

11/05/2025

Don't be distracted.

The alleged atrocities "are part of a broader pattern of violence that has afflicted the entire Darfur region," the International Criminal Court said.